Tape condenser



April 23 9 J.'F.sHmEK 1,109 881- TAPE CONDENSER Filed Jan. 14. 1928 4 sheets-sheet" 1 Jaye 72 F Jc/zz'meK April 23, 1929. |M 1,709,881

I TAPE CONDENSER Filed Jan. 14, 1928 4 sheets-sheet 2 .fme 7: F

April 23, 1929. 5cH 7 1,709,881

TAPE CONDENSER Filed Jan. 14, 1928 4-SheetsSheet 5 El? fl lllllllll Jzzwnfor: Jae 3k liJc/'mefi April '23, 1929- -J. F. SCHIMEK l,70 9 88 l TAPE CONDENSER I Filed Jan 14, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Apr. 23, 1929.

. ZU'NI-TEDSITATVES" owe-E,-

JOSEPH IE. so -IIMEK, orlwoacnsrna, vmssnonnsn'rrs, AssIe-Noa To FWH T IN MA CHINE WORKS, or wnrrlnsvltnn; MASSACHUSETTS,,A CORPORATION 01? Messrs ionnsn'r'rs'. V

' Tuscan-magm Application filed January 14, 1923. Serial No. 246,765.]

My invention relates to textile machines of the typekn-own as condensers, WlllCll'fil'St separate a web of carded material into indi vidual masses of loosely clinging'fibers and subsequently, by a rubbing action, compress.

and cause these fibers to adhere tenaoiously enough so that the indiv dual masses, then termed rovlng, can be-spun into yarn. In

its usual form such a] machinecomprises a great number of endless belts, ortapes, passingover and between a pair of dividing roll-,

ers, by. means of which the web is divided up into separate-masses, and a plurality of sets of rubbing apronsflwhich receive the aforesaid masses of roving from the tapes and,pbya combined reciprocating motion andcontinuousconveying motion, rub these masses together and convey them to rolls on drums upon which they are Wound prepara- .tory to a further operation, such as spin- 311mg, Y v V The present invent lon relates particularly to the rubbing or condenslngmechanism and briefly stated comprises a novel arrangement ofaprons byvmeans of which a more complete rubbing o f thegstranded masses 1s pos-- creasing the overall measurement of the ma chine, from front to'back, and with only a slight increase in the height thereof and, what is equally important, Without decreasing the effectiveness ofthe rubbing which occurs when the moving portion oftheapron is caused to bridgean excessive gap be-' tween the rollers.

in contradistinction to all prior machines,

the apron 1nechanism 0 f the present invention is so {arranged and designed that each one of the stranded masses separated by the tapes pass between a pair of rubbing aprons, then immediately. pass'between a pair of aprons again, and preferably pass a third time vbetweena pair of aprons. This-is done byarranging a plurality of aprons greater Inimber thantw o) tin contiguous arrange inent; and causingthe'material to pass between one end apron and the next adjacent apron, then back between the latter apron and a th rd acent apron, then in the origi-' nal' direction between said third adjacent which is the the dividing rollersr-there is a draught on" the individual; strands as they pass from the tapes to the aprons, and there is' a further draught on the strands as theyll'eave the aprons ontheir Way tothe take ,up beams.

there eizists all of the abovejdranghts, and in addition there is a 'draughtas the roving In the machine of the, present invention I 4 goes from the space between the first and v the second apron,- and enters the space bevtween the secondand third apron; and there is another draught as the roving goes from the'second and thirdaprons' to thespa'ce be- 7 tween the third and fourth aprons.='-*This 'result is accomplished by causing the first and second" aprons to travel atone speed,

and the third and fourth aprons to travel; at I '80 a greater speed, and it results in roving that is moreattenuated, and ,betterprepared for the spinning operation, In the mach'ne fliselosed e in the accompanying drawings, there are four aprons to cachset and thereia-re foursetsof aprons, the'latter being the usual arrangement in tape condensers. In the machine illustrated in the accompanying drawings, aprons are mounted oneover the other, and in the best embodiment of the invention known to me,alternate aprons are .reciproc'ated i1i-opposite directions, aswill hereinaftenmore :tully appear. H

The above and further objeets-andadvan tageous features of the invention. will more fully appear from the following detailed de .scription, taken in connection with the 5 accomp anying drawings, in which Fig.1; is an elevation of theright hand side of; a condenserconstructed in 'accord-.

but showing the apron drivinggearing.

Fig. 3 isa sectional VlBW. taken on the line 3, 3 of Fig.2, the aprons and gearing, on the 'ance with the invention, 'thegearing that] drives the aprons being omitted. :i V

Fig. 2 1s .an'elevati'on sim1lar-to-Fig..l-,

ing the apron shafts, this section being taken on the line 4, 4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. is a fragmentary plan view of .the driving mechanisms for the aprons, this view being. also taken on the right hand side of the machine.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevation taken on the left hand side of the machine, showing the actuating mechanisms which give the aprons their reciprocatory motion.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the drawings.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and3, the machine generally comprises pair of side frames 1, '1 suitably attached together and between which the condensing mechanism is mounted. A pair of dividing rolls-2, 2, are mounted at the front of the machine in suitable bearings'which are supported in notches 3, 3 provided in the frame members 1. Aplurality of endless tapes 4'passpa1'tly around 7 andj'between the dividing rolls 2, 2 and travel therefrom in four separate paths,

aroundlguiding rolls 5, 5,one of which carries all the tapes from the lower d1v1dmg roll- 2, the other carrying all the tapes from the upper dividing roll 2; both sets oftapes dividing into two lets'after pass-- ing'over the rolls 5, 5 ultimately passing -tolrolls 6 and 7 in the upperhalf ofthe openings 12 and 13 and two lower openings 14 and 15 provided by each frame memher 1, and as the separate rubbing apron units mounted in said four openings are identical only-one need be described inde- I t-El1l.-- Each". 111111) romprises four sulperin'r' posed apronslfi, 17, 18 and- 19. Theapron 16 passes around and is supported by rollers 20, the apron 17 passes around and is supportedby' rollers 21, 21;,the apron 18 similarly passes around and is supported by rollers 22, 22; while the apron;19 passes around and is supported by rollers 28, 23. 1.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 3 and 6, rolls 20, 20 of each upper apron 16 are rotatably supported in end. brackets 24, 24. These end brackets 24, 24 in the case of the aprons locatedin the openings12 and 14, aresecured to the frame members 1, 1 by any suitable i fastening means such as bolts 12Fand 14. .65

The end brackets 24, 24 that are locatedin the openin s 13 and 15 provide upwardly projecting osses 24, 24 which are'secured to the frame members 1, 1 by bolts 24 and slots 24, by reason of which their position is adjustable in a vertical direction. The rolls 21, 21 of the aprons 17are rotatablysupported in. end brackets 25, which are secured to end brackets-24by means of bolts 25" passing through projecting portions 25' of the brackets 25 and through the brackets 24. 1

The rollers 22, 22 are" rotatably supported in end brackets 26, 26' and the rollers '23,

28 are supported in end 'brackets 27, 27

1 each of the brackets 26 providing a depend- .ing projecting portion 26 bymeans of which it is fastened to abracket 27 -The brackets .27, in the case of the apron mechanisms located in the openings 13 and 1 5, are attached to the frame members 1," 1 by bolts .13 and'15 in precisely thesa-me manner that the brackets 24 are'att-ached to the said frame members in the case of the mechanisms located in'the openings 12 and 14 as already described; The-brackets 27 located in the openings 12 and 14 areadjustably attached to the frame members '1, 1

by means of depending bosses 27 27'' similar to the bosses 24*, which. are however,

in staggered relation to the latter to conserve space, as shown in Fig. 1. The foregoing mounti'ng for the aprons is. inmany respects similar to that shown in Reissue Patent No. 15,778 except forchanges made necessary by the fact that, in case of the present invention, 5 double the number of aprons are provided in'each-frame opening of the-machine, and the provision of the staggered bosses 24 and 27 for the details of the method of adjusting and support of the several sets ofrollers 20 to 23 inclusive, reference should be to the aforesaid 'patent.

The 'machine of the present invention, in

common with prior condensing machines,

provides mechanism fordriving the several sets of aprons 16, 17,18 and 19, such drivis to say, each apron is driven independently and not dependent upon the frictional drive from any other apron. This mechanism is best illustrated in Figs. 2,' 3' and 4. My

.ingmeans being positive/in its nature,that

machine further providesmechanism for reciprocating the several sets of aprons, this being illustrated-in Figs. 3 and 6.

Having reference first to the driving mechanism, the number fof aprons being double that provided in prior machines of this character, 'I have found that 'spro'cket and chain'driving means can be employed to great advantage, as this eliminates many gears which would otherwise be necessary; Referring now to Fig. 2, a large ulley 28 r is provided on one' side of the mac ine, this pulleybeing fastened to a shaft" 29. which also carries a spur gear 30'." The pulley 28,

- which is driven from any outside source of being also, broken away as in the case of the pulley 28. The gear33 meshes with the power, is broken away in Fig. 2 to better show the otherv elements of the driving mechanism. The gear 30 meshes with and drives a gear 31 on ashaft \vhich'carries a smaller spur gear 33, said gear 31 Dcsirably formed integral with thegears 35,

35, as shown in Fig. are sprocket gears 37, 37 which are thus positively rotated by the train of gearing described. Around the sprockets 37, 37 pass sprocket chains 38 and 39 in the case of the upper and lower sprockets 37' respectively, and thesechains'38, 39 actuate the apron driving mechanism.

The several sets of rolls 20, 21, 22 and 23 are driven through gears 40 fastened to the shafts of the rollers and gears 43 fastened to the shafts of the rollers 23'. These spur gears and 43, four of each of which are provided as shown in Fig. 3, are Wide gears because of the reciprocating motion. im-

. parted to all of the apron rollers 20 to 23 inclusivewhich will be hereinafter described. The gears 40 mesh with gears241 fastened to the shafts of rollers 21, and the gears 43 mesh with gears 42 fastened to;the shafts of the rollers 22. The gears 4Ov arelocated close to the frame members 1, although, of course,

they moveslightly rel-ativethereto while the 7 gears 43 are spaced aconsiderable distance from the frame members 1, 1 even when they are closest thereto, The gears 40 are' driven by the several gears 44,45, 46 and 47 which,

as best shown in Fig. 4, are located in the same vertical plane, mounted'on studs 44 ,45, 46 and 4 fasg toned'to theframe 1.; the position of these gears 44, 45, 46 and 47in elevation being clearly shown in Fig. 2. Each of the aforesaid four gears has integrally attached thereto sprocket wheels 48, 49, 50 and 51 respectively, around which pass the chain 38 in the case of the wheels 48 and 49, andthe chain 39 in the case of the =wheels50 and 51.

The wide gears 43 are driven by spur gears 52, 56, 54 and which are located in the same vertical plane and are mounted on studs 52 56%, 54 and 55? attached to the frame 1. The gears 52, 54 and. 55have sprocket wheels 57, 5 9 and. integrally attached thereto, the sprocket chain 38 passing over the wheel 57'and the sprocket chain-39 driving the last two wheels 59 and 60. The gear 56 is, driven indirectly by means of a spur gear 53 mounted on a stud 53 to which is integrally attached a sprocket wheel 58 and 1 are; rotatably around which the chain 38 also passes, the I reason'for this in'dircctdrive being that otherwise thegear 43 in the frame opening 13 would be driven 'in the wrongdirefction.

The course of the chains 38 and-39 will nowbe pointed out. It is necessary topass these [chains aroundthe several sprocket wheels in sucha manner that a suflicient con tact and pressure of the chain against each-x direction. \As the function of the aprons is to taketheseparated cardedmaterial from the tapes 4, 4 adjacent therollers 6,7, 8 and 9, respectively andto condense the several strips of material into roving, the travel of theaprons must be in thedirection of. the

small arrows shown in Fig. 2. The sprocket chain 38 consequently moves upwardly after leaving'the driving sprocket 37 partially around an idlerroll (31 to the sprocket wheel -48, this being therefore the slack side of the chain. {After leaving the sprocket wheel sprocket 57 at the frontthereof, then down around the'sprocket 49 at the rear thereof,

around the same side of thesprocket 58 and- 48 on the side facing towards the rear of' I themachine, the chain 38 passes'over the back around the driving sprocket The interposition of the intermediate spur gear 56 ismade necessary by the fact that the chain 38 can not pass over the front'of the sprocket 58, as-todo, so would not enough contact therewith. v

The chain 39 moves inthe direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 2, the slack downwardly moving side thereof being supported, as in the ease of the chain 31 by an jidler 1"01162.

give it Thence the said chain passes aroundjthe sprocket wheel '60 leaving said wheel on .the rear-side'thereof, then .upii 'ardly around the sprocket 51 on the front sidethereof, then the front of the sprocket 50. At this point it is necessary to introducean additional sprocket inv order thatcontact may be mains tained between the chain 39 and the sprocket 50 and to this ,end a sprocket63 is provided,

located just above the sprocket 50 on a stud G3 (see"Fig. 4)'-:there being a spur gear 64' v fastened tothe sprocket 63 to drive thetakeup mechanism of the ..1nachine,- with which the present invention has nothing to do.

chine by means, of brackets .69,70,and 71.

loweraend, thus to rotatesaid; shaft by means of a be'lt.drivc, .not shown. Spaced ,This shaft has a pulley :72 fastened to it'at I Lie", around the back sideof the sprocket59and along said shaft 65,'opposite the openings 12,- 13, 14, and respectively, are eccentrics 73 which are surrounded by yokes 74 so'that rotation of the shaft 65 causes'oscillation of the yokes 74.

The yokcs pins. 76 to a plurality of connectors 77 and '78, each of which provides a forked portion 79for the reception of the tongue portions 75. Each connector 77 18 of the shape shown I in Figs. 3. and 6, andthe topleg 77 thereof is fastened to a bar 80 that controls the longitudinal, position of the shafts 20, there being four of such bars, one for each pair of shafts. The lower portion of each connecter 77 is forked, and'the bottom legs 77 thereof are fastened to a bar 82 that similarly controls a pair of shafts 22, there being likewise four of such bars '82. Each conneotor 78' is symmetrical and its top leg-78 is fastenedto a bar 81 controlling shafts 21, while its bottom leg78 is fastened to a bar 83 controlling shafts 23.

p The shafts 20 to 23 inclusive extend beyond the end brackets 24 to 27 inclusive and are rotatably held by the bars 80 to 8S inelusive by means of nuts 84: andwashers 8 F coacting with threaded end portions of the several sets of shafts. Oneend of each liar: 80 to83 inclusive is provided with 'a slot 85 .(see F igi 6) in substantial alineme'nt with slots 86 provided in the brackets 2a to 27 inclusive, the'latter being more fully de scribed in "the aforesaid reissue patent, so that relative 'lateral'movement of the parts is thus permitted. As will beobserved from Fig.8, the top one of eachpair of eccen-v trics'73 occupies the same angular position, while the bottom eccentric 3 of each pair is spaced angular-1y one hundred and eighty degrees from the top one. The result is that when the yokes 74 that are pivotally secured to the conductors 77 are farthest to theright (Fig. 3) the yokes secured to the connectors 78 are farthest to the left. The connectors 77 and 78, therefore, are either movingin opposite directionsor they are at extreme opposite DOSltlOllSfflllCl as the connector 77 con trols the top and, the third aprons 16'and 18 in eachfframeopening, and the connector 78 controls the second and the bottom'apro'ns 17 and 19, it follows that the aprons, wherever they come in contact, are-inoving in opposite directions (laterally) eXcopt'at the moments of reversal,

'llhe'connectors 77 and 78 are fastened to the several bars 80 to 83 inclusive, by means of bolts 87' and nuts 88 which can be seen, in Fig. 6. It will be obvious that the rela-:

tive position ofthe connectors 77 and 78 can be reversed, and in fact any arrangement utilized that permits the bars 80 and 82 to be reciprocatedin unison, while the bars81 7lprovide tongue portions 75 that are pivotally connected by means of and 83 are'moved in unison, but in the opposite directiom. 1

The machine' operates, as do similar prior art machines, in connection with a carding machine, the product of which is a web of fibers that have been carded and caused to he generally in one direction. Suchweb 1s led to the dividing rolls 2, 2; by means of an 7 apron, not shown, or any other suitable conveying means. Immediately upon its fientrance betweenthe dividing rolls 2, 2, the web is split into a multitude of longitudinal strips, one-half of which thereupon travel around the back side of the upper roll 2 and the front side of the upper guiding roll 5,

and the other half of which travelsdownwardly in similar fashion around .the lower; rolls 2 and 5. Leaving the rolls 5, 5 in two divisions, the web is'further divided, one

quarter of the tapes carrying it' directly to the roll 6, another quar'ter carrying it to the rolls 7, a third quarter to the rolls and the remaining quarter to the roll'9. Between the rolls 5, 5and the rolls 6, 7,8 and;9,the tapes undergo a twist as illustrated at 01, a9, 90 V Fig. 1, and the longitudinal filaments of carded material are on the outside of the tapes as they pass around the several rolls 6,7,8 and 9.x

The foregoing is merely descriptive of one form'of tape dividing mechanism and in this embodiment'the tapes going around the roll 6pas's upwardlytoward the roll 10, and in so doingpass tangentially to the apron 16' which removes the separate strands of carded material from said tapes and con'vey tangent to the'apron 17 in the opening 1 1- and those tapes passing around the roller-9. contact with the apron 17 in the opening 15, and thus that portion of the stranded niater iall going to the lower half of the machine is conveyed rearwardly in two parts be I tween the pairs-of aprons 16' and17 in-the spaces 14 and 15 respectively. w

; At this point there is a draft on the material from the fact that theaprons 16 and 17 are travelling at a slightlygreater speed than the tapes 4, this being the usual arrangement in condensers. Thematerial is now rubbed and condensed by the reciproca tory action of the several pairs of aprons 16 and 17 from which it passes 'rearwardly down around the rear roll 21 in each case and then between thepairs-of aprons 17 and 18. The gearing on the side of the machine illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 is so arranged greater speed than apron 17.-

that the wide gears 43 are driven at a slightly greater speed than the wide gears l0. Insomuch as the gears mesh with and drive the gears 41, while the gears 4-3 mesh with and drive theg'ears'42, it'follows that the apronslG and 17 will travel at one rate of speed, while the aprons 18 and 19 will travel ata different and Slightly higher rate of speed, the gear-s40, 11, 42 and 13 being all of the same diameter and number ofteeth. The stranded material, therefore, in passing between the aprons17 and 18 after leaving the aprons 16 and 17 is still more attenuated and drawn out since apron 18 is going ata It has been found in practice that it is immaterial that the apron 17 is'mov'ing at a different and lower rate of speed from the apron '18, since the difference is slight and the material tends to travelat a speed which is the mean of the velocity of these two aprons 17 and 18 and any differential in the movement tends to condense the material much as the lateral reciproca'tory motion does.

The material next travels forward as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2 and then moves downwardly around the front roller 22 and in between the aprons 18 and 19. There is a further. draft at this point, since both of the aprons 1:8 and 19 are travelling at a higher rate of speed than the mean velocity of the material between aprons 17 and 18.

- The material now moves rearwardly and is alternate reciprocation of the rollers 16 and p 18 in one direction and the rollers 17 and 19 in the other direction, the material is subjected to a rubbing action no matter which particular set of aprons it happens to be located between. condenser the material is subject to the rubbing action through a far greater distance than has been possible with any prior machines, and yet the machine of the present invention is of the same dimensions from front to rear as the prior machines and is 7 only slightly higher. Also, according to my invention two additional drafts on the material are now provided for, the machine of the presentinvention contemplating five separate drafts, first as the web of carded material enters it, the second, as it leaves the tapes going to the apron, two drafts in the Thus in my improved apron mechanism itself, andv a 'final draft as it is wound upon the take-up rolls.

It may be desirable, to save the operator the trouble of causing the separate ends of stranded material to thread themselves prop i erly between the several sets of aprons, to provide gtudmg roller-s92 pro ect1ng forwardly of the'apr'ons 18 to guide the strand ed material downwardly; It'wi-ll be noted that the aprons 18 are offset with respect to all the other aprons;this is to prevent the stranded material from being pickedup again by the tapes 4 as it passes around the I,

front rollers 22. This offset of this apron also-causes. said apron to project rearwar'dly of the apron 17 and thus makes a ledge on which the stranded material; may fall ;'and it' also causes the aprons 19 to pi'oject fo1'.-

wardly of the aprons 18, forming a similar ledge. This arrangement tends to facilitate:

the threadingof the ends in between the aprons; ifdesired, another set of'guiding rollers, not shown, may be provided in connection with the rear edge: of the aprons 1-7. The guiding rollers 92 are heldin position by short brackets93, formed integrally with the several brackets 26 and sheet metal ex tension 94, extending upwardly, further assistin guiding the filaments between the aprons and prevent their being picked up'by! e the moving tapes.

I claim 1. Ina machine of the class described, the

combination with a dividing mechanism, of an apron rubbing mechani's1n comprising three or more aprons whose apron surfaces are in contiguous arrangement, whereby to lead the material the length of the aprons and baclc'again, thus to attain a supernor mal rubbing action with aprons of normal length. y p 2. In a machine of the class described, the combinationiwlth a dlviding mechanism, of

an apron rubbing mechanism comprising four aprons whose apron surfaces, are in ing alternate aprons in opposite directions laterally, and means for causing alternate aprons to have a continuous conve-ylng motion in'opposite directions, so that the contiguous surfaces will all move in the same direction. I a

4. In a machine of the class described, four aprons whose apron surfaces are contiguous, one of the two middle aprons being offset with respect to the others to provide a shelf to assist in self threading of the roving, whereby roving may be passed three or more aprons whose apron surfaces are in contiguous arrangement and adapted to lead a single length of stranded nmter al back and forth between said aprons a pluralityof times, and means to cause said material to thread itself between the next adjacent pair of aprons after leaving a given pair of aprons. 7."In a 'machine ofthe class described, three or more aprons whose apron surfaces are in contiguous arrangement and adapted to lead-asingle length of stranded material back and. forth between said prone a pinrality of times, and a roller to cause material to thread. itself between the next adjacent pair of aprons after leaving a given pair ofaprons.

8. In a machine of the class described, threeor more aprons whose apron surfaces are in contiguous arrangement and adapted to lead a single length of stranded mam rial back and forth between said apron, plurality of times, and a guide plate to cause said material to thread itself between the next adjacent pair of aprons after leaving a given pair of aprons.

9. In a machine of the class described, an apron rubbing mechanism comprising three or more aprons whose apron surfaces are in contiguous arrangement and adapted'to rub and condense stranded material, and means to drive said aprons at different speeds, whereby the said rubbing mechanism carv es a draught on material passed back and forth between thesuccessive aprons a plurality of times. '10. In a machine of the class described, an apron rubbing mechanism comprising three or more aprons whose apron surfaces are in contiguous arrangement and adapter of aprons going to the next adjacent pair.

11. In a machineof the class describecha continuous conveying and rubbing mechaw nism for thecondensingof stranded mate rial comprising a pair of apron. surfaces moving at a given speed, and a second pair of apron surfaces one of which moves at the speed of the first pair and the other of which mov sat a different speed, whereby to create a draught on said. material as it goes from one pair to the other. Y

12. The improvement in the art of condensing carded material which consists in moving the material back and forth a plurality of times between rubbingsurfaces travelling at different speeds, whereby to draw said material to a smaller diameter and. obtain a more perfect condensingthereof. j V I 13. In a machine of the class described, a double pair of condensingaprons, .the su rfaces of each pair of aprons beingin contiguous arrangement, whereby to lead a single length of strandedmaterial. through one pair, then back between said pairs, then JOSEPH F. soinnn r. i 

